5
– Troubleshooting Guide
Thermo Scientific
Product Manual for the ERS 500 Suppressor
Page 64 of 84
031956-11
For Research Use Only. Not for Use in Diagnostic Procedures.
5.3
High Background Conductivity
A.
Check the Dionex ERS 500, Dionex ERS 500e or Dionex AERS 500 Carbonate current
settings.
Refer to the suppressor current settings section.
B.
Check for eluent flow out of the suppressor ELUENT OUT port.
1.
If there is no flow out of the suppressor ELUENT OUT port, make sure that eluent
is entering the suppressor at the ELUENT IN port. If there is no flow at this point,
trace the eluent flow path backward through the system to find and remove the
blockage.
2.
If there is flow into the suppressor but not out, and there are no visible leaks from
the rear seam of the suppressor, a break in the suppressor seal is probably allowing
eluent to leak into the regenerant chambers. If this is the case, then the suppressor
should be replaced. The suppressor is sealed during manufacture; attempting to
open it will destroy it.
Do NOT attempt to disassemble the Dionex ERS 500, Dionex ERS 500e or Dionex AERS
500 Carbonate.
3.
If there is flow from the ELUENT OUT port, but no eluent suppression, the
membrane may have been contaminated. Try to restore system performance by
cleaning the membrane (see
Section 6, “Electrolytically Regenerated Suppressor
C.
Remake the eluent to be sure that the concentration is correct. Be sure that chemicals of
the required purity were used to make the eluent (see
). If the eluent concentration is high, the suppressor may not be set up to
suppress the high concentration resulting in high background conductivity. Refer to
Tables 13–17 in Appendix A, “Matching the Current Setting to the Eluent
Concentration and Flow Rate,” for Dionex AERS 500, Dionex AERS 500e and Dionex
AERS 500 Carbonate suppressors and the Tables 18–20 in Appendix A for the Dionex
CERS 500 and Dionex CERS 500e.
D.
Contact the nearest Thermo Fisher Scientific Regional Office (see, “Thermo Fisher
Scientific Worldwide Offices”) if you cannot solve the problem on your own.
5.4
Drifting Baseline
If the baseline drifts steadily upward, increase the current setting by 5-10% to reduce the
background conductivity. As the background conductivity decreases, the baseline drift should
decrease.
5.5
Noisy Baseline
If the baseline is noisy (> 3 nS with hydroxide or MSA eluents, > 10 nS with borate eluents, > 7
nS with carbonate or carbonate/bicarbonate eluents and the Dionex AERS 500 or Dionex AERS
500e, > 2 nS with carbonate or carbonate/bicarbonate eluents and the Dionex AERS 500
Carbonate), it could be caused by trapped air bubbles in the cell or tubing. Burp or release the
trapped bubbles by gently tapping on the cell while the fittings are slightly loosened or bleeding
the tubing. Below is an example:
SAFETY
!
